BIG community brunchThe Festival Fundraising Brunch provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Festival together with friends over a cup of great coffee and a spread of goodies fresh out of the Lemon Tree kitchen.

Shepparton's AttractionsThere’s many things to do and see during your stay including a visit to the Maude Street Mall - with plenty of places to shop, have a coffee and take a pleasant stroll!

2012 Health and Wellbeing Forum Day

OUTintheOPEN, Shepparton’s newest Festival celebrating community diversity, is hosting a rural GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) health and wellbeing forum in Shepparton. Designed to bring together members of the community, service providers, health practitioners, primary health care providers and others who have an interest in GLBTIQ health and wellbeing, the forum aims to provide professional development opportunities and allow for the sharing of networks, information and ideas culminating in a showcase of current activities and initiatives in rural and regional Victoria. A particular focus of the Forum will be “inclusive practice” – how best to cater to the needs of those who are SSASGD (same sex attracted and sex and gender diverse).

SSASGD people in rural areas have different needs to those in metropolitan areas facing higher levels of discrimination from homophobic attitudes, isolation, limited clinical health services and limited support systems. SSASGD people are not only those who identify as GLBTIQ, they include a much broader cross-section of the community that can sometimes remain ‘invisible’ if we’re not committed to “inclusive practice”. Researchers and workers practicing in the sector will present key information in identified areas of concern for the GLBTIQ communities & SSASGD people living in country Victoria including: